Advocate Group Pushes Obama to Uphold Campaign Promises on Immigration
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus immigration task force, lead by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, announced that it would be taking a new approach to ensure President Obama upholds his promises on the campaign trail about immigration. The group will plan and execute a national campaign that will put pressure on the administration to focus on immigration. The event, called "Change Takes Courage" will hold events in 20 states, including in Honolulu, Hawaii, where the president was born. The campaign will include meetings and press events with local leaders in each of the areas, as well as immigration advocates. The first event will be held at the Instituto Biblico de Rhode Island in Providence.

Pressure on Obama
Fair Immigration Reform Movement will spearhead the campaign. This is a coalition of more than 200 immigration advocacy groups that will present clips of the promises Obama made during his campaign. It will focus on the two years he has been in the presidency where no action has happened. The spotlight will be on the real life experiences of many people and families torn apart by deportation. A member of FIRM"s council, Eva Millona, stated, "We gathered here today…to acknowledge that change takes courage, and to respectfully tell President Obama that now is the time for him to find it." The organization is asking for parole for those students eligible for the DREAM Act, immigrants with deep roots in the communities and parents of citizen children. The group also wants more protections for workers, including a moratorium on audits.

Obama Promises
During his campaign, President Obama made a wide range of promises including pushing for immigration reform. In the State of the Union last year, he also advocated for laws that would allow some people who are undocumented immigrants to get legal status. However, with criticism from the right, Obama pushed for harder immigration enforcement and deportation of a record number of undocumented immigrants. He put more troops on the border of the country than ever before. However, Congress did not move on its opposition to immigration reform. The Senate voted down the DREAM Act, which would have allowed some undocumented young people to gain legal status if they joined the military or went to college. More so, even those politicians who want immigration reform are noting that it is unlikely that any reform will occur in the next two years.

Obama Decisions
Keeping in mind that Congress makes the laws, the group does plan to showcase the options that Obama himself does have, including the fact that he should make sure the programs are doing what they are supposed to do, in deporting only the "worst of the worst." Secure Communities, for example, takes fingerprints from local police and matches them with the DHS databases to document illegal immigrants in an effort to only deport those who have felonies against them. However, a number of innocent people have been pulled into this net as a result. The goal of "Change Takes Courage" is to encourage more intensity on immigration and to give Obama the chance to make changes.